ORLANDO, Fla. – Back in August of 1999, the powers that be in hockey in North America met to discuss player development in Canada. It was called the “Molson Open Ice Summit” and it drew representatives from the NHL (league and players), the Canadian Hockey League and Hockey Canada, the country’s ice hockey governing body. The discussion led to some fundamental changes in how players were trained. Eleven years later, the sport is at another crossroads, this time on a global scale. The game has grown but has it outpaced the competitive level necessary to thrive? Can it get any bigger? What about international competition such as the Olympics? Or the state of women’s ice hockey? Later this month – August 23 to August 26 to be exact – the hockey world will gather in Toronto for the 2010 Molson Canadian World Hockey Summit to discuss these questions and many more with the theme of “Global Teamwork Promoting the Growth of the Game“. It will also be the first time where the fans will be able to sit in and listen to the thoughts and ideas of some of the biggest names in international hockey. “As leaders, stakeholders and fans of hockey, we have a shared responsibility for the care, nurturing, protection and development of our game,” Hockey Canada’s president and C.E.O. Bob Nicholson said. “The goals of the Molson Canadian World Hockey Summit are to provide an inclusive forum to table the most pressing questions surrounding our game and work together to find implementable solutions.” The steering committee, which developed the topic ideas for the summit, was comprised of Nicholson, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, USA Hockey executive director Dave Ogrean, IIHF general secretary Horst Lichtner, Canadian Hockey League commissioner Dave Branch, NHLPA chief of business affairs Mike Ouellet and Molson Coors’ director of sports & entertainment Pat McEleney. The committee’s goal was to address the state of the game across the globe at every level with input from administrators as well as players past and present. The event will begin with a reception followed by interactive “hot stove” sessions hosted by the Hockey Hall of Fame on August 23. The next three days will be devoted to six sessions, each one devoted to a separate topic. Each session will have speakers and panelists uniquely qualified to address the discussion. The sessions will be held at the Air Canada Center and the Sheraton Center in Toronto Tuesday, August 24 will focus on player development. The first session will tackle the topic of player skill development. Long-term player development strategies, a review of present development practices, developmental shortcomings and current trends in player safety will be among the subjects discussed in this session. The panel will include Philadelphia Flyers’ head coach Peter Laviolette; Columbus Blue Jackets’ assistant coach Bob Boughner; NHL vice president of hockey and business development Brendan Shanahan as well as Dr. Mark Aubry, who is the chief medical officer for the IIHF and Hockey Canada. The second Tuesday session will delve into junior hockey around the world. The sub-topics during this discussion will include the impact of European migration to Canada, the effects of European players going to the AHL and NHL, keeping the IIHF World Junior championships strong and developmental shortcomings in elite junior and collegiate programs. Among the speakers and panelists will be IIHF vice president Murray Costello; Buffalo Sabres’ general manager Darcy Regier; Swedish Ice Hockey Association director of development and national teams Tommy Boustedt; USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations Jim Johannson; Brandon Wheat Kings’ general manager/coach Kelly McCrimmon; Slovak Ice Hockey Association vice president Jan Filc and CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos. The two sessions on Wednesday, August 25 may be the most popular because of both the subject matter and the list of speakers. The morning session will focus on evaluating the Vancouver 2010 Olympic men’s hockey tournament. Expected discussion points include the impact of the Vancouver games via television, commercial and public relations, the financial breakdown of Olympic hockey, the impact, consequences and costs of NHL participation and a rink comparison between the NHL and IIHF. The roster of speakers is a distinguished one. The feature speakers will be John Furlong, the C.E.O. of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games, IIHF President Rene Fasel and IOC managing director for television and marketing services Timo Lumme. The panelists include Detroit Red Wings’ executive vice president and general manager Ken Holland; current players Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa and Jamie Langenbrunner of New Jersey; Brian Cooper from Hockey Canada and Igor Kuperman, vice president of European operations for Pointstreak Sports Technologies. Session number two on Wednesday carries the working title of “Establishing a Long-Term Global Event Agenda”. The session description says it will “explore the possibilities to provide hockey with a long-term international event agenda for both national team and club events, further enhancing the IIHF-NHL cooperation for the growth of the game”. Among the discussion points listed are working the World Cup of Hockey into a rotation with the IIHF World Championships and the Olympics, establishing a World Club Championship between the Stanley Cup winner and the European champion, re-launching the Champions Hockey League and growing hockey worldwide. Former Swiss national team coach Ralph Krueger is the feature speaker but his presence could be out shadowed by the panelists. In addition to broadcasters Glenn Healy (Hockey Night In Canada) and Paul Romanuk, Toronto Maple Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke and New York Rangers scout Anders Hedberg will participate. The final two members of the panel are NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly and KHL President Alexander Medvedev. The two leagues have been at odds for some time over contract transfer issues. Most recently, the NHL has been vocally questioning whether further participation in the Olympics is prudent. With the next Winter Olympics set for Sochi, Russia in 2014, the war of words between the two leagues has grown. (As a footnote to this session, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is scheduled to be the luncheon speaker for an interactive Q & A just prior to the international discussion.) The first session of the final day (August 26^th) will begin with a discussion titled “Women’s Hockey After Vancouver 2010”. The dominance of the U.S. and Canadian teams at the Olympics led to questions about the disparity between North America and the rest of the world. The session will address the approach being taken in IIHF member associations, increasing registration and participation in emerging women’s hockey nations, growing the game and how the IIHF can assist in that growth. The keynote speaker for the session will be Hayley Wickenheiser, a member of the Canadian women’s team and one of the most prolific players in the women’s game. Her coach, Mel Davidson, and 2010 U.S. Olympic women’s coach Mark Johnson are two of the panelists, as is U.S. player Angela Ruggiero. Arto Sieppi, Finland’s director of women’s ice hockey and Swedish women’s Olympic coach Peter Elander round out the panel. The final session of the summit is titled “Growing Participation in Hockey”. As the name suggests, the primary discussion will be about retaining current levels of participation and bringing in new players. Finland’s Sieppi and Sweden’s Boustedt will join Chicago Blackhawks’ President John McDonough and Ottawa Senators’ Sports and Entertainment President Cyril Leeder on the panel. Also participating will be Hockey Canada C.O.O. Scott Smith, USA Hockey Assistant Executive Director for Membership Development Pat Kelleher and University of Toronto / York University sports psychology professor Dr. Paul Dennis. Fans are encouraged to attend but space is limited. For more information, please go to www.worldhockeysummit.com . Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com